Spinach And Walnut Pesto For Dinner And Lunch

When not in season, fresh basil is pricey so spinach is a really good and nutritious alternative to use when making pesto. We had a lot of leftover spinach from a large container we had bought and I thought making spinach pesto would be a great fresh way to use it up. Walnuts are also a nice alternative to pricey pine nuts usually used in making pesto.

Pesto
I often make batches of pesto from my garden basil at the end of summer and freeze it for winter. This past summer, a pest ate all the basil and I couldn't control it. So, unfortunately, there was no basil to harvest.

Since I've been making pesto for years, I don't need to pre-measure the ingredients. My spinach pesto recipe is much like the recipes that can be found on the internet or in cookbooks. So if this post inspires you to make some nutritious spinach pesto for your family one night, great! You can either work from my general instructions or try another recipe that sounds good to you.

Method
For this pesto, all I did was stuff a bunch of washed baby spinach into my small 2-cup food processor, plopped in two peeled garlic cloves, a handful of walnuts, juice from half a lemon, a little sea salt, and some freshly ground pepper. When it was time to blend the ingredients, I poured in some extra virgin olive oil (somewhere around 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup), enough to make the mixture move around and blend and until it looked like the right texture. When it was almost done, I added another bunch of spinach and finished blending. For a larger food processor, all the spinach (a total of about 3-4 cups or whatever you want, just adjust the other ingredients to taste), should fit in one batch.

When the spaghetti was done cooking, I scooped out some of the pasta water before draining to use for extra moisture in the finished dish as needed. I probably used 1/2 cup of pasta water to 1 pound of pasta.

Pesto usually has some parmesan cheese. I left it out so I could avoid lactose on my portion (the combination of gluten and lactose can be too much for me). Then, whoever wanted cheese could add it to their dish at the dinner table. The pasta is organic but not gluten-free and not whole wheat. I haven't found a gluten-free spaghetti I like yet. And my family doesn't like whole wheat pasta, although, I think it would have tasted fine with this pesto.

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Spinach And Walnut Pesto With Goat Cheese ~ Lunch or Appetizer

The rest of the pesto that didn't get used for dinner was saved for lunch another day.

I spread the spinach pesto on top of two toasted multi-grain gluten-free bread slices and cut them into four bite-sized pieces. In a separate dish, I poured some local honey and leftover crumbled walnuts over goat cheese. For an appetizer, I'd just trim off the crust for a nicer presentation.

Then I put it all together for a nice lunch during a sewing project. Oh, look! I couldn't wait to eat some before taking a photo: 

And while enjoying lunch, I heard the loud cawing of crows outside . . .

Crow and branch silhouettes on a gray winter's day

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The delicious bread I used for the snack is a gluten, dairy, and nut free multi-grain bread is from a local bakery, A&J Bakery, in Rhode Island. We don't have allergies, but I like to buy gluten-free bread sometimes just to take a break from eating gluten and this bread just happens to also be dairy and nut free.

No compensation was received. This is just a product I love and want to share.

Beautiful Filet Beans and Fresh Local Cod

So it's over . . .

. . . Summer and outdoor farmers' markets.

I'll miss the farmers' markets and farm stands. It was a great season with a lot more farmers' markets making shopping a lot more convenient.

Or, maybe, I was just more aware of them. I saw signs everywhere. Farmers' markets and farm stands were ubiquitous it seemed.

Since I have a vegetable garden, I was always looking for different vegetables, preserved goods, baked goods, cheese, eggs, and meat. And there were plenty of options to choose from. Mostly, I enjoyed interacting with proud farmers and vendors who were more than happy to talk about their products.

While the experience is wonderful, in truth, it isn't easy in the beginning with respect to cooking. Meals are new and different, but so amazingly fresh and simple. I'm thankful that my family was open-minded and patient. I wish I could have shared more through my blog but I took a little blog vacation over the summer. And trips to farmers' markets or farm stands can take time, unless you're lucky enough to live near one. This year they weren't far from us and the more I asked and researched the more I found.

The experience was also educational with each visit exposing me to new local vegetable varieties, flowers, products, ideas, or even art.

I especially liked asking farmers how to prepare vegetables that I'm not familiar with. Most recipes are simple, like roasting these long beans in olive oil, sometimes I was instructed to enjoy it "raw!", and a fisherman I met had copies of his favorite recipes to take home.

I hope everyone gets a chance to visit a farmers' market even if it's just once in a while. The emotional connection between food and farmer has such a presence that it's palpable, almost as edible as the food itself! And everyone is happy and enjoying themselves, whether there's entertainment or not.

In addition to farmers' markets, I visited a few farms where I also purchased meats, cheeses, and eggs.

Meadowstone Farm

The dairy fridge. They also have vegetables and meat on site but we were all set with those.

A small purchase yet local, fresh, and delicious.

Another favorite of mine is this community-run farm. I stopped by the other day to pick up a few fresh tomatoes since my garden has stopped producing them - how I'm lamenting the end of tomato season!

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Beautiful Beans And Fresh Cod

These beautiful beans caught my eye one day and the farmer told me he likes to saute them in a little olive oil. Seemed simple enough so I picked up a batch and got to work, but I had a few more ingredients in mind.

With about two cups of shelled filet beans (tongue of fire) I started by sauteing the beans in a little extra virgin olive oil over a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.

When they started to get soft, I added 1 shredded carrot, a diced 1/2 red pepper, 1 minced shallot, and 1 minced garlic. Covered the pot and simmered about 20 minutes. (It was taking longer than I expected to tenderize the beans. Next time, I would boil the beans a little first to tenderize them, then saute with vegetables.)

Just before serving, I reheated and stirred in chopped fresh tomatoes and parsley until the tomatoes softened a little. Added pepper to taste.

Baked Fresh Cod
This wonderful fresh cod came from a local fishery.

To make the crumb topping, I ground 1/4 cup unsalted whole almonds and 1 tablespoon melted butter into a fine crumb in a food processor. Then I added 1 teaspoon paprika, a dash of pepper, and 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (Buttered crackers could be used, a flavor my kids like, but I didn't have any on hand. I tried these gluten-free crumbs, and they were pretty good!).

I spread more melted butter, about 1 tablespoon, over the fish and topped with the crumb mixture. Finished by squeezing a little lemon all over and baked in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes.

Mustard Vinaigrette: this was a simple whisked blend of about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, a squeeze of lemon, a teaspoon whole grain mustard, and a sprinkle of pepper. I topped the salad off with about a half teaspoon of the whole grain mustard because I like the way it looks and I just love the flavor.

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To Be Continued
With farmers' markets and stands closing soon and my kids' busy schedules, I'll try my best to visit winter farmers' markets in my effort to continue supporting local producers and keeping fresh food on our family table. And when at the supermarket, I'll look for local first.

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Locally made relish over locally made hot dogs, organic whole-wheat roll, grilled garden zucchini, leftover beans from a neighbor.

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Going local philosophy that I like at Local Works Marketplace at WREN in Bethlehem, NH.